Pre-Prep

Pre-Prep

Rose Hill’s Pre-Prep is the perfect place for children to begin an exciting new chapter in their lives. It combines an inspiring academic and creative curriculum with passionate teaching, outstanding pastoral care and magical outdoor learning opportunities.

The Head of Pre-Prep has overall responsibility for all the children and is supported by a very strong team of highly qualified staff.

Our ethos

We want to give our children the best possible start to school life so they can blossom and find their own way in the world. To do this we aim to help each child discover what makes them tick, and then create learning opportunities tailored to their individual interests and needs. Ultimately, we want to sow the seeds for a lifelong love of learning.

The Pre-Prep children range in age from 3-7 years. Their first two years are spent in Early Years (Kindergarten and Reception classes) and the children naturally transfer to Later Years (Years 1 and 2 classes) to complete their Pre-Prep education.

We offer a friendly learning environment, which respects each child as an individual, and pastoral care is at the heart of everything we do. Our aim is to ensure each child is happy and excited about coming to school.

We have small class sizes (16 children) and an experienced and highly dedicated teaching team, which means we can respond to each child’s individual social, academic and emotional needs. Our teachers, and teaching assistants, are constantly monitoring the children to ensure they get the right level of support. This enables each child to join with other children and adults to enjoy learning together through play and work.

Early Years (Kindergarten and Reception)

Most children enter the Pre-Prep through the Kindergarten in the September after they turn three. Children start with five mornings a week and gradually build up their school day to prepare them for Reception.

Like the rest of the school, pastoral care and nurturing are of paramount importance. We recognise that each child is at a different stage and we account for this by tailoring our teaching according to ability and personality.

Teachers follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, which gives the children the opportunity to experience planned and purposeful activities and a positive approach to finding out about the world around them. Small class sizes, individual attention and impressive facilities mean that we are also able to further extend their experiences. Each child develops and grows through individual learning, exploration and plenty of gentle and encouraging teacher support.

Teaching staff have daily contact with parents, and children are given regular opportunities to show their parents around the classroom. This encourages them to have ownership of their work and pride in everything they achieve. Additionally, parents receive a written report each term and this is followed by a teacher consultation evening.

Later Years (Years 1 and 2)

As the children progress, they experience a smooth and easy transfer to a more formal approach to their learning. This next stage of learning is known nationally as Key Stage 1. Activities, both in and beyond the classroom, are a mixture of teacher led tasks and guided and independent exploration.

We follow the National Curriculum with a strong emphasis on Literacy and Numeracy, but we combine this with an innovative, creative curriculum to inspire young minds.

We spend valuable time in our wonderful woods, where the children are challenged in a variety of ways such as shelter building, climbing trees and exploring habitats. We are proud that our children are free to enjoy and learn from the natural world around them.

We are fortunate to have the expertise of many specialist staff who further enrich the curriculum in Music, PE, dance, French and Computing.

Pre-Prep children use the facilities of the whole school, making the move to the Prep school a natural and seamless progression.